UHD STEADY PROGRESS: 4K&HDR CONFERENCE RESULTS

4 October 2017 in Moscow Telesputnik held the 2nd International Conference “Digital TV&Video in Russia. 4K&HDR”, dedicated to deployment, production, delivery and consumption of UHD content. This is the only event in Russia centered specifically on Ultra HD/4K industry. Headliners of its business agenda are leading global experts in Ultra HD Television.

Tricolor TV, one of the world major satellite TV operators, acted as a co-organizer and title partner of the event, while strategic partner of the conference was GS Group. Partners of thematic sessions were such companies as 1HDTV Television Company, SES and AWS Elemental, while technical partner was Sony. Live streaming of the conference was organized by a special technology partner — the company System House Business partners. The event supported by Association of developers and producers of TV broadcasting equipment (ARPAT), National Association of TV and Radio Broadcasters (NAT) and The Russian Cable TV Association (AKTR).

In scope of the plenary meeting dedicated to 4К global ecosystem, key trends of Ultra HD (UHD) development in Russia and abroad were discussed, as well as marketing strategies and tools for promotion of this format by the market key players. While opening the conference, Telesputnik chief Editor Alexander Kaligin emphasized that during the last year the Russian Ultra HD market has been steadily progressing. Specifically, Arsen Khomutov, Tricolor TV production director, said that in the operator’s packages, 6 UHD channels were already available. Participants of the discussion spoke of the possibility of cooperation between the Pay TV market players to discuss stimulation of demand in Ultra HD content.

The plenary discussion was followed by a session devoted to the monetizing practice and new TV formats launch experience. The presentation devoted to Ultra HD-based business by Ultra HD Forum Working Group head Benjamin Schwarz, showed that thus far UHD-content is only limited by 4К-resolution. Benjamin Schwarz said that High Frame Rate (HFR) technologies will be the most attractive for sports broadcasters. Amedia TV`s CEO Denis Gorshkov spoke of application of premium content formats and series production, and discussed possible cooperation between content and TV equipment suppliers based on the example of Amediateka online service and Samsung. In his opinion, it’s the producers of content and subscriber equipment that play a key role in 4K-technology promotion.

After the lunch, the conference continued with a session devoted to technological foundation of digital TV modern formats and standards implementation, including 4K, 8K, HDR, HFR and WCG. It was opened by Yuki Uetsuji, senior manager of NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corp.) — the largest public broadcasting company in Japan, which performs radio broadcasting since 1925 and TV broadcasting since 1953. He shared his experience of filming and postproduction in 4К-format sports competition, documentary movies and news. He also presented a plan for preparation to broadcasting the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo in UHD format. Sergey Zhuravel, NEC sales manager, spoke of the manufacturer’s solutions in 4К industry. “Solutions for content reproduction in 4К and 8К formats, including TV sets, monitors, players and game consoles gradually turn from luxury to widely spread home hardware,” NEC representative stated. Konstantin Vanag, Imagine Communications sales manager in Russia and CIS, presented cutting edge solutions for content processing in 4K HDR format. He said that most solutions in this field already supported IP protocol. Fraunhofer IIS technology consultant Stefan Meltzer reminded to the conference audience that quality video content is not only image, but also sound. According to his evaluation, 4K/8K based systems need new audio format. One of them is — MPEG-H which is successfully applied for UHD and VR content. Guillaume Arthuis, BBright CEO, provided a detailed analysis of how HEVC codec may be used throughout the working process in Ultra HD. Alexandr Gajdučeňa, Neotion sales manager, presented the possibilities of modern assisted CAM-modules. He said that CAM Neotion sales in Russia grew by 350% this year.

Participants of the next session discussed topical problems in the field of 4К-content delivery by way of satellite signal, cable networks and OTT-services. Andrey Guriyanov, AWS Elemental sales manager, shared a successful experience of 4К-broadcast from the International Space Station. In his speech, Andrey Guriyanov emphasized that any 4К-broadcaster faces a difficult choice — whether to provide high quality image or save on frequency passband. In scope of the session, the presentations were made by SES Video Vice-President New Technology & Standards Media Platforms Thomas Wrede and Michel Chabrol, Eutelsat`s Vice-President, new TV formats. They confirmed the satellite infrastructure readiness to Ultra HD TV broadcasting. Mikhail Lins, STV development department manager, stated an authentic interest of the Russian TV market in 4К technology. He said that the experience of Tricolor TV operator defied skepticism regarding UHD deployment.

The final part of the conference was devoted to premium content production. Its participants discussed authorship projects in thematic channels, the problem of balance between form and content, as well as optimum thematic areas for premium quality content filming. 1HDTV television company CEO Nikolai Orlov expressed a confident opinion that the future of TV market belongs to 4К, noting however, that thus far, the majority of premium content is still HD. So, authors and hosts of the programs “Hunter and Fisherman” and “Hunter and Fisherman HD”, Vladimir Solopov and Valery Kuzenkov, shared their knowledge, how applied during preparation of content for their projects. Specifically, Vladimir Solopov said that the key to any successful premium content was a charismatic host, as well as high quality production and footage. Amos Rozenberg, head of Paramax Films, shared his experience in musical content shooting, including opera performances, classic and jazz music, and rock star live concerts in 4K and HDR formats. Bertrand Loyer, Saint Thomas Productions President and Producer shared the ways to make filming cheaper and described 4К content postproduction. Elena Antonovich, executive director of three TV channels - Phoenix plus movie, Weapons and Anecdote TV - shared the experience of production of such content during filming of the first Russian Ultra HD series. She provided insights on series-making subtleties, equipment preparation and modernization, including optimization of storage process and footage editing.

On top of the business program, the conference featured a demo-zone for Ultra HD TV ecosystem solutions, enabling live broadcasting and 4К-content demonstration. LG и Sony presented state-of-the-art UHD TV set models for the Russian market.
2nd International Conference “Digital TV&Video in Russia. 4K&HDR” confirmed its status of an efficient platform enabling comprehensive discussion of Ultra HD premium content industry topical issues. The business agenda of the event and its informal networking included over 200 Russian and foreign delegates.

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Key speakers

Stefan Meltzer

Technology consultant, Fraunhofer IIS

Rian Bester

CEO, Tern International

Alexei Ivanov

CEO, Satellite TV MTS

Michel Chabrol

Director of Innovation Marketing and Digital Cinema, Eutelsat

Prashant Chothani

CEO, Travelxp TV

Yulia Shahmanova

General Director, STV

Sergey Zhuravel

Sales Manager, NEC

Mikhail Medrish

Director of Operations, AKADO Telecom

Kirill Makhnovskiy

CEO, Orion Express

Alexander Starobinets

Marketing Director, Tricolor TV

Nikolai Orlov

General director, 1HDTV television company

Guillaume Arthuis

Сo-founder and CEO, BBright

Stephan Heimbecher

Director Innovations & Standards, Sky Deutschland

Yuki Uetsuji

Senior Manager, NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corp.)

Andrey Kholodniy

Deputy Director General for the development of nonlinear services, Tricolor TV